The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
New Mexico
No. 6 Softball gets walk-off win over No. 25 New Mexico, 2-1
03.30.2012 | Softball
March 30, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - Kim Bruins delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth Friday as the No. 6 Texas Longhorns beat the No. 25 New Mexico Lobos, 2-1, in a non-conference game at McCombs Field.
Rachel Fox improved to 9-0 for the Longhorns (28-2), who have won six straight. Fox tied a personal best with 13 strikeouts while allowing one run on five hits and one walk.
New Mexico (22-7) took the lead on the Longhorns in the third when Stefanie Carramusa hit her 13th homer on the season with a solo shot to center off Fox. Carrie Sheehan frustrated the Texas hitters by allowing only two hits through the first five innings. In the Texas sixth, the Longhorns were able to plate their first run. Taylor Hoagland had a leadoff walk as Brejae Washington followed with a bunt single in front of the plate. Lexy Bennett then singled on an 0-2 pitch up the middle to tie the game, but the Longhorns were unable to score the go-ahead run.
Fox retired the final seven batters she faced, setting up the heroics in the Texas ninth. With one out, Karina Scott singled to center as Torie Schmidt replaced her as a pinch runner. Mandy Ogle then singled to center with Schmidt and Ogle both advancing on a wild pitch by Kari Gutierrez (4-2). With Schmidt at third and the New Mexico infield playing up, Bruins hit a hard ground ball that glanced off Chelsea Anaya's glove at second for the game-winning base hit.
Texas continues its seven-game homestand with a doubleheader tomorrow. The Longhorns play Tulsa at 11 a.m. and New Mexico at 1:30 p.m. with both games being broadcast live on Longhorn Network. Gametracker live stats, along with a live Twitter feed (@TexasSoftball), will be available on TexasSports.com.
Notes: Texas is 6-2 this season against Top 25 teams...Texas is 16-0 at McCombs Field this season...today was just the sixth time in 30 games that the opposing team scored first with Texas posting a 4-2 record when the opponent scores first this season...Texas is a perfect 6-0 in one-run games this season...with today's single, Lexy Bennett is now in third place by herself on the Texas all-time list for hits (212) and trails Loryn Johnson for second place (230 from 2007-10)...Bennett now has 137 RBI in her career, trailing the school record of 139 (Loryn Johnson)...Rachel Fox had 13 strikeouts for the second time in her career (UTSA on April 26, 2011)...Kim Bruins has seven RBI in her last four games...Nadia Taylor went 0-for-4, snapping her career-high hitting streak at eight games.
UNM 001-000-000---1-5-1 TEXAS 000-001-001---2-8-1Note: 1 out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.
WP - Fox (9-0) LP - Gutierrez (4-2) Records: Texas (28-2), New Mexico (22-7)
Sheehan, Gutierrez (6) and Garcia. Fox and Ogle.
Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Connie Clark
On her message to the players during this close game: Just say focused. Stay the course and keep making adjustments. I thought it was a well-played ballgame on both sides. We hit the ball hard right at people several times, and that is how the game goes sometimes. We felt like it was a matter of time until we found the gaps. We stayed patient, and we stayed the course.
On the lessons they learned from this game: We are always making notes. That is the fun of having New Mexico three times this weekend, because it is very similar to a conference matchup and we can see where they are susceptible and see what adjustments we can make. However, we told them we have Tulsa first tomorrow, and that is what we need to be thinking about. We will be able to go over the New Mexico notes and make some adjustments.
Sophomore pitcher Rachel Fox
On her meeting with Coach Clark in the seventh after intentionally walking Stefani Carramusa: [Intentionally walking her] is just strategy. If the roles were changed, I feel like they would have done the same thing. At that particular moment in time, it was the best thing for us to do, and then just go right after the next batter. I needed to refocus, and then we got the next girl on the strikeout.
